From the Ashes of an Empire
by Ninjabiscuit
Summary: "'The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire'. There was nothing great about it." What followed the defeat of the Daleks were centuries of chaos and violence. Humanity's anger toward the Doctor who had abandoned them seemed to burn brighter, until a young mercenary discovers his return. Perhaps there is still hope for the future, and a lesson for humanity to learn. ON HIATUS.
1. Vincent

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Vincent. But even then it's whatever.**_

_The Fourth "Great and Bountiful Human Empire". That's what the Doctor always referred to it as. "Planet Earth at its height", he said. Satellite 5 brainwashing the entire human race, breeding generations of ignorance and apathy, mindless slaves serving a tyrannical race of bloodthirsty Daleks. Oh yes, such a great empire. Then came the Doctor and his friends to plunge us into a living hell. First he killed the Mighty Jagrafess, and left the human race to fend for itself. Our society, our world, everything we lived and died for was just stopped. _

_We had become worse, but the Doctor was not done. Oh no. He wrecked havoc again when he returned 100 years later to see the damage he had caused. He and this "Bad Wolf" entity saved __our entire planet from the Daleks, but not before they managed to take the lives of over one-third of the people on Earth and leave the planet desolated.__Did the doctor help humanity? Of course not. He went about his merry way, leaving what remained of humanity in ruins. Society collapsed yet again, and with no one to control the human race, violence became inevitable as nations tore themselves apart. For over 400 years we have killed each other in order to dominate what remains of our race._

_I will never forget the stories that my grandfather told me as I grew up. Every day he would tell stories of aliens and a "Doctor" who brought death and destruction wherever he went. Yes, the Doctor: the bane of humanity. My grandfather cursed him and his blue spacecraft. Everyone did, except me. Sometimes I felt like the only kid in the world who believed in this Doctor. Until the day my grandfather died._

_**10 years prior…**_

A young ginger-haired boy and his grandfather walked toward their home in Moss Side. Thankfully they weren't too far away, just a few more blocks to go. The boy observed a scene all too familiar to him. His friends were playing soldier on the remains of crashed warships, while fully armored British soldiers patrolled the area, always on the alert, their fingers already on the trigger of their rifles.

The boy clung to his grandfather for any sort of comfort or illusion of safety there was to be had. His grandfather always made him feel safe. He was a tall and rather burly man, though his strength had long since left him. His head was shaven, and his skin was etched with the myriad of scars he had received from the years of war. His left eye was a ghoulish white color.

The war-torn veteran hurried the frightened child along.

"Hurry along now, lad. You're nine years old now. Time to be a man."

The young boy began to let out a few silent sniffles, but fought back any tears. His grandfather squatted to the boy's level and raised his head so that they faced each other.

"Chin up." He smiled. "Now come on, there's dinner waitin'!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, there was an explosion. The child couldn't see from where, but he clung to his grandfather and began to cry. The old man grabbed his grandson and carried him in his arms, darting as fast as his weakened body could take him. From the corner of his eyes he could see soldiers in gold trimmed body armor firing at everyone in sight.

It was the Davros Empire, loyalists to the Daleks who had ruled over humanity so long ago. In their eyes, the fate of humankind was best left in the hands of their former masters. Humanity would have at last been at peace and harmony, with no need to think or worry about anything. There would have been no troubles, no strife, and perhaps fewer lives would have been lost. After all, what good is free will when humanity constantly chooses to exploit and slaughter one another? The loyalists, in naming their empire after the creator of humanity's rightful masters, vowed to find a way to bring back the Daleks. To sacrifice free will was a small price to pay for the greater good.

"Those crazy sons of-Aaahh!"

He was cut off by the sharp pain of a bullet going through his right leg. The old veteran's strength faltered, and he fell face first onto the ground. The child rolled out from underneath his grandfather's arms. Tears filled his eyes as he shook his grandfather's shoulders.

_Please, Grandpa. Please get up. I'm scared!_

The veteran soldier grabbed his grandson's shirt, and held it with a tightened grip.

"Run." He growled.

The boy trembled with fear.

"I said run, boy do you hear me?! Get out of here!"

He couldn't do it. He was too scared to move, too scared to do anything. It was too late to do anything anyway. Three Davros soldiers, clad in a humanoid form of Dalek armor, surrounded the two. One of them made eye contact with the wounded old man.

"For the greater good." the soldier said in a monotone voice. With one shot from his rifle he ended the old man's life. The child grabbed his own hair and screamed to the top of his lungs, his face burning red and tears streaming down his face. Another voice came from the distance.

"Fire!"

The boy closed his eyes, awaiting his inevitable death. What he got instead was the sight of three Davros corpses and a group of British soldiers grabbing him and sprinting toward the nearest safe zone. Only one soldier carried the boy, while the remainder provided cover fire. Everything was happening too fast. Explosions, gunfire, corpses, Grandpa… He couldn't take it anymore, and everything faded to black.

"_Great and Bountiful Human Empire". There was nothing great about it. My name is Vincent Monroe. I am a mercenary currently spying on a strange blue phone booth that appeared from seemingly nowhere. Wait. That's it! That must be the spacecraft from the stories, which means that… _

"Oh, Doctor." Vince gritted his teeth as he loaded his rifle and sneaked closer to the spacecraft. "You've got a LOT to answer for."


	2. The Predicament

The TARDIS calmly hummed as the Doctor leaned on the console, entering the co ordinances for their next adventure, and then deleting them. He had been staring at the controls for at least five minutes, running his hands through that gravity defying hair. His mind was buzzing with ideas on where to head next. Perhaps he could take Rose to Barcelona? _Yes! _He thought._ No. Perhaps she would enjoy America in the 1950's._ No. He had just finished dealing with the Wire and didn't really want to risk going through that whole mess again. Eventually he became so lost in thought that he didn't hear the sound of footsteps slowly drawing closer and closer.

Rose grinned as she snuck behind him and leaned toward his left ear.

"Having trouble?"

The Doctor flashed a quick smile at her, pretending not to have been startled.

"Trouble? Me? Oh, none at all." He reassured her as he fiddled with the controls. "In fact, my dear Rose, I think I may have just found our next stop! Now quick hold that button over there!" He pointed to the other side of the console, hoping that Rose didn't hear him slip when he said "My dear".

Rose quickly made her way over to the opposite of him. There were, of course, buttons all over the place.

"Which one is it?" she asked.

He was already preoccupied on the other side, but managed to yell out "I'll let you know when it's time to hit the button!"

"But Doctor!"

The TARDIS began whirling and thrashing about, more so than usual. Something was wrong.

"Which one?!"

"Hold on to something!" He yelled.

The whirling noise grew louder, and the thrashing became increasingly violent. Rose screamed as she was flung toward the walls. She managed to grab hold of one of the pillars and wrap herself around it. Upon hearing her scream, immediately the Time Lord shifted into full protective mode, conjuring any type of plan he could to protect his Rose. He didn't know where they were headed or what was going on, but he had to stop now to keep her safe.

Before he could do anything however, the TARDIS came to sudden halt.

"Rose?!"

He spotted her still clinging for dear life. "Doctor!" She cried out.

"Are you alright?"

His hearts were relieved when she nodded yes.

"Stay right there! I'm gonna get a ladder!"

Rose sighed and rolled her eyes at her time traveling hero. "Well it doesn't look like I have much of a choice now do I?"

He was so amazing, so brilliant, but he could be so thick at times.

* * *

The doors swung open as the two stepped into the green field that they had landed in. Rose shielded her eyes from the golden rays of sunlight that were reflected from the dew of the grass. She took in a breath as she let her new surroundings sink in. The greens were beautiful to look at if it were not for a city in the distance that looked as if it had been completely destroyed. The eerie howling of the wind didn't do much reassuring either. Wherever they were, whenever they were, it didn't look good. She turned to the Doctor for an answer.

"I took a quick glimpse before we stepped out." He began. "This is England…in the year 200,453."

Rose shook her head in annoyance. "Wait. You're telling me we're in that Fourth Great and Bountiful Empire…again?"

"Well you see, we were _supposed_ to land on New Earth in the year 500,000,053." The Doctor shrugged and looked upwards. "I suppose we're just a little bit off."

"Well, what went wrong? Why is everything so…quiet?" she asked worriedly. "What city is that over there?"

He had an idea of what city it was, but he kept it to himself. He knew more than Rose did that there was something terribly wrong with this scenario. They had saved the Earth in the year 200,000. So why wasn't the human race thriving? From the moment they had stepped out of TARDIS, he realized that something had happened again.

"What do you say we go and find out?" said the Doctor.

They were so distracted by the sight of the ruined city in the distance and the failure to land in the right destination yet again that they failed to notice a lone mercenary sneaking closer toward them, spying on them from behind the TARDIS. He had been watching the TARDIS since it landed, having been ordered by the Davros Emperor to ignore his previous mission and investigate the landing immediately. It was a matter of coincidence that he happened to be within close range of the strange spacecraft at the time of its landing.

The Time Lord smiled at his companion and held out his elbow. "Well Rose? Shall we?"

Rose smiled with excitement and wrapped her arm around his. "Lead on."

Vincent watched them stroll onwards toward the ruined city. They were still oblivious to his presence. He took this as an opportunity to creep closer and quietly followed them from a distance. He was now in front of the entrance of the TARDIS. It was tempting to enter and explore the ship's interior, but the ginger-haired mercenary decided it would be best to remain focused on the infamous Doctor and his accomplice. Who was this woman, and why did she appear to be an ally of this sadistic madman in a pinstripe suit?

"I don't understand, Doctor." She said.

Vincent froze as to not make a sound.

Rose continued. "When I was the Bad Wolf, we saved the Earth didn't we?"

_The "Bad Wolf?!" _Vincent's heart stopped at the sudden realization. He felt his entire body stiffen in fear. _No. She couldn't be. _He thought to himself.

This young woman could not possibly be the same creature that destroyed the Daleks hundreds of years ago. She did not look like she could even harm a fly, let alone an army of Daleks. Then again, this Doctor did not appear to be threatening either. Perhaps that was their game! The more Vincent pondered it, the more sense it made to him. Act innocent, to earn the trust of the populace. Then when they least expect it, annihilate them. Yes, that's it! So simple, yet so brilliant, this Doctor and his accomplice was! Vincent smirked at them from behind. He was so proud of himself for seeing through their little façade.

_So that's your game then, Doctor? The Destroyer of Worlds and the Bad Wolf come to Earth once more, to pretend like you're innocent and then finish what you started centuries ago? _

What to do next? He thought about retreating and reporting to the Emperor what he had seen, but this Doctor was a danger to all life on Earth. There was no way in Vincent's mind that he was going to let these two out of his sight. It would be best, he thought, to follow them into the city before reporting his findings. The city had plenty of obstacles to hide behind, making it easier to continue following them while awaiting further orders. It made sense at the time, until his plan suddenly took an unexpected turn.

"Mercenary 551, what is the status of your investigation? Over."

The realization hit him. _Oh shit! I left my radio on!_

It was too late. As soon as they heard the static from his radio, the Doctor and Rose quickly turned around and noticed the armed mercenary who had been stalking them and was now aiming his rifle at them. A combination of fear and rage struck him as he saw the Destroyer of Worlds and the Bad Wolf in the flesh, their eyes meeting with his own.

"Doctor, look out!" She cried. Without thinking Rose grabbed the Doctor and turned her back toward their assailant.

Her sudden movement had sent Vincent into a panic. Thinking she was going to reach for a weapon, he opened fire. The bullets hit their target before the Time Lord could react. He watched helplessly as she fell to the ground.

"No!" The Doctor screamed as he caught her limp body in his arms. His fingers were coated in her blood. He could feel the bullet wounds in her back. More importantly, he could feel her heartbeat. She was still alive, but she was losing blood. He had to get her to a hospital and fast, but first he needed to slow down the bleeding.

"Don't move!" Vincent yelled.

Every fiber of the Time Lord's being filled with rage at this ginger-haired punk. The Oncoming Storm was preparing to show himself. His eyes grew fierce, his fists clenched. There was going to be hell to pay, because nobody harms his Rose. Nobody.

"You." The Doctor growled.

"Stay where you are!"

"You didn't have to shoot her!" the Doctor yelled in anger. "She was innocent!"

He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at Vincent. "And now she's dying because of you!"

Vincent staggered backwards upon seeing the enraged Time Lord aim the strange weapon at him. Whatever that thing was, it was probably deadly.

"Drop the weapon!" ordered Vincent.

The Doctor shook his head. There was no backing down. "I don't know who you are, and quite frankly I don't care!" His anger only intensified as he gritted his teeth and gripped his screwdriver even tighter.

"But this much is for certain…" he growled, using every ounce of willpower in his body to keep himself under control.

"You are going to lay down your weapon," he continued. "You're going to take her to the closest hospital, and you're going to heal her."

He stepped closer to the frightened mercenary, sensing the fear that was overwhelming him.

Frightened at the grievous error he had made, Vincent slowly lowered his weapon. He never lost eye contact with his adversary, but knew that invoking the wrath of the infamous Doctor would not be wise.

"All right. You win, Doctor."

The Doctor was not yet convinced. "Lay it down completely. As in on the ground. Now."

Vincent nodded and complied with the demand. "There." He said with his hands in the air. "Satisfied?"

With the screwdriver still pointed at the mercenary, the Doctor took a step closer.

Vincent took this as the beginning signs of trust. "My vehicle is just west of us. I cloaked it so nobody else but me can find it." He stated. "I'll take you there, just don't kill me. I'll help you. I'll heal her."

The Doctor, satisfied that Rose was going to receive the aid she needed, put away his screwdriver, carried Rose in his arms, and followed the mercenary. A few questions began to run through his mind. How did this man know that he was the Doctor? Why was he stalking them? Those questions could wait. Rose was the top priority right now.

Meanwhile Vincent breathed a sigh of relief. All he had to do was get to his vehicle, uncloak it, and take this woman to the city hospital. Simple enough. There was no trusting this Doctor though. He had to be disabled, at least temporarily, so that he would no longer be a threat. Vincent stopped in his tracks and began to look around. There were finally some trees in sight. They were close to the vehicle.

"What's wrong?" asked the Doctor. "Why did we stop?"

Without saying a word, Vincent delivered a powerful chop to the Doctor's neck. The Time Lord quickly fell on his knees, accidentally dropping Rose. He let out a painful groan before finally collapsing on the ground. Vincent stood over their bodies and examined them just to be sure his chop had done the trick. They were both out cold.

_**Thank you for your patience with this chapter! I would have posted a lot sooner but I've been sick with the flu for the past week. There's probably some questions as to why Vincent is working for the same people who killed his grandfather but I'll explain that later. Reviews and critiques are certainly appreciated as this is my first fic. Thanks! =)**_


	3. A Rude Awakening

Vincent continued driving to his destination in his armored hover car. Every now and then he would glance in the back seat at his prisoners, contemplating whether or not to turn them in to the Empire. He had completed his mission, and all he had to do to collect his payment was to return to the capital and turn the two in. He couldn't do it though, not after endangering an innocent woman. Even if this Rose was the Doctor's accomplice in some kind of plot, she posed no visible threat. He had shot her out of his own paranoia. It was a cowardly move, and even more shameful to admit that he had done it.

Vincent pulled over near a boulder that lay near the entrance of the ruined city and turned around to check on Rose. Taking his right glove off, he placed his fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. It was there, but faint. Vincent sighed in relief. There was still time to save her. Even she would have killed him, he hated to pull the trigger. He hated killing. He hated war. All he had wanted was for all of it to stop. Before Vincent could put his glove back on, he heard the Doctor begin to stir. The Great Destroyer was waking up, and Vincent did nothing but gulp.

"W-what am I doing here?" He mumbled almost incoherently.

The Doctor squirmed in the back seat, trying to piece together where he was and what was going on. His vision was still a blur until he started to remember. Vincent. The assailant with the ginger hair. Then he remembered Rose. His eyes widened.

"Rose? Rose!" he shouted as he faced her unconscious body. He started to panic. "Rose wake up! Come on, wake up!" His voice breaking, he fought tears as he kept saying her name.

Vincent looked at him with his rear view mirror. Even the Doctor deserved to know the truth.

"Doctor."

At the sound of his voice, the Time Lord's despair turned to anger, and he immediately turned his head to see Vincent in the driver's seat. The Doctor's eyes were burning with rage. Vincent knew he had to calm him down.

"D-don't worry." He managed to said. "We're nearing Manchester now. Well, as long as it will be Manchester anyway."

"What?!" The Doctor exclaimed in complete and utter confusion. He hated his current situation. Bound in high-tech cuffs hand and foot, no TARDIS, and no idea of the history of where he was.

"Manchester. Well, the Davros Empire plans to level its remains and make it a training ground for their soldiers."

"What?!" the Doctor exclaimed louder, a look of horror and disgust on his face.

"What do you mean 'what'?" said Vincent, starting to get annoyed. "This is what you wanted, isn't it Doctor? To just barge in where you're unwanted and cause the deaths of countless lives? To ruin humanity and make us all miserable?!"

There were so many emotions going through the Doctor's mind. He was so confused. "Davros Empire?" A training ground for soldiers? Wanting to ruin humanity? After all he had done for the human race, all the sacrifices he had to make, and all the people he had lost just to save this precious planet and its populace, this punk had the gall to say that all this time-traveler wants is to cause death?

"I never wanted to make _anybody_ miserable!" he yelled at the mercenary. "How old are you anyway? You look about nineteen? Twenty maybe?"

Vincent remained silent.

"Well anyway it doesn't matter." The Doctor continued. "Because I'm centuries older than you'll ever be..." His tone became darker and more stern. "... and I've saved humanity more times than I'd like to count."

Vincent scoffed at him.

"I probably even saved _you_ without you even knowing it."

Vincent's eyes widened with anger. In an instant he slammed on the brakes, sending his prisoners flying into the back of the front seats. There was a loud thud as the Doctor's head collided with the seat. The next thing he heard was the slam of a door. The captive Time Lord wrangled and squirmed, trying to sit himself back up to see if their kidnapper was still in the vehicle. He didn't have to wait long for the answer. The door behind him flew open only seconds before the Doctor felt two hands grip his coat and drag him onto the grass.

The next thing he knew, he was against the same door with Vincent gritting his teeth at him.

"Saved me? You think you've saved me?" He growled as he slammed his helpless captive against the hover car. "You think you've saved us?! You _ruined _us!"

The Doctor was completely baffled. "What?!"

"Stop that!"

"What?"

"That! Stop it!"

"What-"

He was cut off by sudden left hook to the jaw.

"Ow! That hurt!"

Vincent gritted his teeth in annoyance. "That's the point."

Before uttering another sound, the Doctor had to think about how to say his next sentence. "Okay, um sir? What's your name? Sorry didn't quite catch it while I was being chopped in the neck-"

"Vincent." the mercenary answered, cutting him off again.

"Ah. Vincent." the Doctor leaned the back of his head against the car. "Right. Well, Vincent I was trying to ask, before I was so rudely interrupted by a left hook , and a very impressive one at that, was What _happened_ here?"

Vincent stared at him, not quite sure whether or not his captive was telling the truth or just feigning ignorance.

"You mean you really don't know?" he asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

Vincent sighed. Perhaps he was being honest. Without a word, he opened the door to the backseat and motioned for the captive Time Lord to get back in. After the Doctor flopped himself back inside the vehicle, Vincent sat in the driver's seat again and locked the doors.

"I'll tell you on the way to the hospital." He said.

The Doctor nodded. "Start from the beginning."


	4. The Doctor is In

Vincent started the engine to the hover car and resumed driving toward their destination.

"After you and the Bad Wolf destroyed the Daleks and left us," Vincent began, "our civilization was left in shambles."

The Doctor nodded as he followed along.

"You see, we lost over one-third of the human population on Earth. No one helped us."

"Wait." the Doctor interjected. "No other civilization bothered to help? No other humans on other planets? Just nothing?"

Vincent shook his head. "Nothing. Meanwhile, people panicked, anarchy spread, and aspiring tyrants and warlords took advantage of humanity's vulnerable situation. There were promises, so many promises, of hope and a future where if we just submitted to one person or the other's claim to leadership we could be prosperous again. We could become great again."

The Doctor lowered his head in disappointment. "I see."

"Like sheep, everybody flocked to whoever they felt could live up to that promise. So many aspiring leaders died, but more took their place. All of them vying for the same thing: power. The Davros Empire is a prime example of that. They are the most powerful force on the planet right now. An empire built on betrayal and pure aggression. Our leaders are too busy with politics and internal problems to really do anything to stop them."

"In fact," he continued, "More nations and empires are surrendering to them."

"Did you say the 'Davros' Empire?" asked the Doctor. "Now _that's_ an interesting choice for a name."

"Yes. It is." Vincent agreed.

The Doctor paused for a moment to reflect on the history lesson he had just heard. He looked at Vincent's reflection in the rear view mirror, and furrowed his brow in a most concerned manner. Anything with the word "Davros" in it could not bode well.

"Why 'Davros' Empire?" he asked sternly. "Why that name?"

Vincent let out a heavy sigh. His grip around the steering wheel tightened as he began to explain. "They named it after the person they believe created the Daleks. Their armor is even based off of the remains of the Dalek armor found on Earth. Legend says that all of the Daleks were turned to dust, but I guess that didn't apply to the ones that were killed before the Bad Wolf stepped in."

"Hold on. Let me get this straight." said the Doctor. "You're telling me that these people actually _like_ the Daleks?"

"Yes."

Disgusted and confused, the Time Lord shook his head in denial. "There's no way humans...Why would...Just, why?!"

Vincent answered him. "Because before _you _stepped in, we were happy."

"You were _slaves!" _the Doctor shouted at him. "You were mindless sheep! You were cattle! You were being used-"

"But we were _happy!_" Vincent interrupted. "_That's_ the important part 'Doctor'. We were happy. We were at peace. We just lived, laughed and died. That's it. Nothing more."

"And that's what you want?!" the Doctor yelled at him, infuriated. "You just want to be happy mindless little slaves? Wasting your lives away without purpose? Without meaning?! Without _hope_?!"

He was disgusted. The captive Time Lord slouched in his seat utterly disgusted with the recent revelation. After all he had done to save the human race, they start grovelling to the Daleks, a race of pure hatred and destruction. The one race that had hurt him the most, the one race that he hated more than anything, was the one that was _still _holding the fate of the Earth in its hands. Even in death the Daleks still had the last laugh.

"No, Doctor." Vincent replied to him, "That's what _they_ want."

The conversation ended at that. Both of them remained silent as the hover car finally reached Manchester. It was just a few minutes to reach the hospital. Those minutes felt like hours as the Doctor watched Rose, trying not to focus on the bullet wounds riddling her back, or the fact that the back of her clothing and even the bandages were soaked red. _Wait a minute._ He thought to himself. _I didn't have any bandages on me._

"Did you put these bandages on her?" he asked.

Vincent didn't answer. He didn't need to though. The Doctor already knew that his captor had done it.

_How thoughtful to bandage an innocent person and take them to a hospital after shooting them in the back_.

He meant that last thought too. It seemed that perhaps their assailant had a soft side, or maybe he had always been soft. Maybe Vincent felt guilty about shooting her. That could be why he still kept his word about taking her to the hospital. After all, he could have simply left them on the ground after that chop in the neck. He could have turned them in to the Empire. Oh that's right! The Empire! There were a series of questions to ask, and he had nearly forgotten all about them.

"So, Vincent." he began as he sat up in his seat, "How'd you find out about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you know I'm the Doctor? Why were you following me?"

Vincent drove down the roads, cracked in some places and plain dirt in others. Some of the buildings looked like they had been blown apart, while others were simply abandoned. The sight was all to familiar to Vincent, but still heartbreaking to both him and the Doctor.

"I knew because I was told that 'the Doctor' would be inside the blue spacecraft I was sent to investigate. You're legend. A bogeyman is more like it." answered Vincent. "But it wasn't until this young woman addressed you as 'Doctor' that I knew who you were."

The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sorry, you said I was a 'bogeyman'?"

"To put it frankly, Doctor, word of what you have done spread across the world not long after you left it in shambles. All of our problems, the chaos, the deaths, the poverty, the suffering..."

Vincent watched as the Time Lord leaned forward, looking as if he really didn't want him to finish his sentence.

"The general consensus is that it's all your fault. You're an enemy of the human race, and I'm taking you in."

As they finally approached the hospital, the Doctor remained silent, his mouth gaped open from the realization that he was despised by the very race he had loved so dear. He sulked in his chair, not uttering a sound. He simply stared into space, perhaps wishing that this was all a nightmare.

Moments later, he heard his door open and felt Vincent pull him out of the car, though definitely more gently than the last time. The mercenary then went to the other side and carried Rose in his arms. After hearing the mercenary lock his vehicle, he heard a loud but short bleep and felt the cuffs on his ankles release.

"You're releasing me?" asked the Doctor, in a confused manner.

Vincent shook his head. "Just your legs. You're too dangerous to be left unguarded, but I don't think I have to worry about you running off around here."

"And why's that?"

"I'll explain later." He replied. "Now come on, the door's right over there."

The Doctor nodded, and followed the ginger-haired mercenary into battered and broken hospital. Finally, Rose would be safe.

The interior of the hospital looked as if a shootout had taken place recently. There were cracks in the walls, and the hospital itself was only two stories high. Vincent approached the front desk, keeping an eye on his captive as well. In less than ten seconds, a young blond woman came to his service, wearing light white body armor and a helmet.

"I see you have someone in need of urgent care." said the nurse, who then promptly called for assistance and a stretcher.

"I don't have time for paperwork. This is official Davros business, so I'm sure you'll understand." Vincent told her as he flashed his badge showing his mercenary status.

The nurse trembled a little and replied, "O-of c-course, sir. She will in most capable hands. For the Empire."

"For the Empire." Vincent nodded with a smile.

The Doctor tilted his head, being inquisitive of the whole situation. These people were completely brainwashed, but how did they find out about him and the Daleks? How did such knowledge spread to every human being on the planet? This went deeper than just stories and legends. He was distracted from his thoughts upon seeing the nurses place the unconscious Rose on a stretcher and wheel her behind the double doors. He tried to follow them, calling out Rose's name while doing so, but Vincent grabbed him.

"Stop!" he yelled at him. "You're coming with me."

The Doctor shook his head, frustrated and furious. He needed to be with Rose. He needed to make sure she would be taken care of. "No! I need to see where they're taking her!"

Before Vincent could respond, the Time Lord took off running after the nurses. Vincent rolled his eyes and pressed a button on his watch. He leaned casually against the wall and watched as the Doctor instantly fell to the ground screaming in pain over the sound of electricity cackling.

"You wanna try running again?" Vincent asked with a smirk on his face.

The Doctor coughed and groaned in pain. He hadn't expected his cuffs to be tasers as well. He lay on the ground, listening to Vincent's footsteps getting closer. Quickly, he rolled on his stomach and tried to reach into his coat as best as he could while still in cuffs.

"_It has to be there,"_ The desperate Time Lord thought to himself. "_Please be there!"_

He felt the side of Vincent's boot roll him on his back. At this point the Doctor was exasperated. He stared wide eyed at the mercenary who was now standing over him with a smirk on his face.

"Looking for this?" said Vincent as he pulled the Sonic Screwdriver from a compartment on his chest plate. He waved it teasingly over the Doctor before putting it away.

"_That clever, sneaky, ginger-haired punk."_

The Doctor let out an angry and frustrated groan as he stared into space yet again. He hated this situation so much. He had no screwdriver, no Rose, no allies, and no mobility without the approval of his captor. He felt completely helpless.

As if things could not get any worse, he heard shouting from outside the walls of the hospital. Vincent pulled the Doctor to his feet, telling him to stay close. Slowly, they hid behind the reception desk where Vincent pressed a red button on his radio.

"Stay here," Vincent whispered.

The shouting grew louder and more clear. Vincent crept by the front door to get a better view of the situation.

There were at least a dozen soldiers shouting orders to each other, ushering more men from behind to flood the city. Vincent held his breath in fear. Those weren't the Empire's soldiers. From the looks of it, they were soldiers of Great Britain, one of the few kingdoms that were loyal to humanity. As much as Vincent hated to acknowledge it, his homeland was his enemy.

"_But Manchester is the Empire's territory now."_ He thought to himself. " _It has been for at least a decade. What are they doing here?"_

He didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Halt!" a soldier yelled in the distance. Vincent couldn't tell from where, but figured it that reinforcements had arrived. "In the name of the Empire you and your men will lay down their arms and surrender! Failure to do so will-"

"Fire!" yelled an enemy soldier. Instantly the Empire's soldier was shot and killed. The Empire's men retaliated and soon both sides charged at each other. Vincent ran back behind the desk for cover, peeking over just enough to see what was going on from the distance.

It was an invasion. Citizens ran amok in the streets screaming in panic, trying to get out of the crossfire. Some weren't so lucky. Grenades exploded, causing smoke to blanket the streets and block his view. He heard the sound of screams, gunfire, explosions and falling debris. He looked at his captive Doctor, who was also equally frightened. He planned to take Rose to the hospital, not end up in the middle of a war-zone.

"Release me! Quick!" he shouted at Vincent.

"Why should I?!" Vincent shouted back.

"I can get us out of here!"

Vincent shook his head. "And I cant?!"

The ground shook at the sound of a loud boom. The Doctor kept his calm and focused on Vincent.

"Listen to me, Vincent," He began. "If you let me go I can promise you two things. One: We will get out of here alive. Two: I will willingly turn myself in to the Empire. No resistance. I'll go quietly."

"You're lying!"

The Doctor never broke eye contact with him. "I give you my word. Now we've come this far, Vincent. Tell me, do you really want to die here?"

Vincent took a moment to collect his thoughts. Could this man really be trusted? On the other hand there wasn't much choice. In his heart, he knew he didn't want to die, and that his only hope was his worst enemy: the Doctor. With little more than a grunt, the mercenary pressed a button on his watch. The handcuffed made a quick beeping noise and fell to the ground. At last, the Doctor was free!

"Right then!" said the Doctor as he leaped to his feet.  
A wide grin spread across his face as he held out his hand. Vincent knew what he wanted. The mercenary rolled his eyes and gave the screwdriver back to him. Finally the liberated Time Lord felt complete.

"Through those double doors now Vincent! Allons-y!"

The Doctor sprinted past the doors, bullets whizzing past him and even putting a hole in the lower left corner of his coat. Vincent quickly followed him, firing back at the enemy soldiers before darting past the same doors.

"Allen's _what?!"_ He yelled.


	5. Out of the Frying Pan

The Doctor sprinted down the hallway while his captor-turned-bodyguard provided cover fire. With each door they passed, each new path they found, the Doctor called out for Rose. He was about to keep running when Vincent noticed a nurse wave her hand around the corner.

"There!" He pointed in the nurse's direction.

Together they both ran to the nurse, who hastened for them to get inside and lock the door. For a few moments, nobody said a word. The sound of shouting and bullets would've drowned out any other noise anyway.

"Where's Rose?" asked the Doctor.

"She's right here." the nurse replied, moving aside to reveal Rose still on the stretcher. Her eyes started to flicker before opening.

"Doctor?" she said weakly.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, relieved that she had finally woken up.

He noticed her wincing, trying to fight the pain. As the Doctor tended to Rose, Vincent peeked out the door. Enemy soldiers were approaching fast.

"I hate to interrupt but we have to move! Now!" he yelled.

"Where do we go?" Rose asked, fighting the Doctor's attempts to lay back down.

"Well we can't stay here." said Vincent. "Keep running. I'll cover you!"

Before anyone could object, Vincent unlocked the door and ran out firing at the soldiers.

"Rose, can you walk?" asked the Doctor.

"I have to." she replied.

He helped her to her feet and ran out of the room along with the nurses. He kept his back facing the way they came, just in case they were shot from behind. Vincent had managed to take down a couple of invading soldiers, but knew that there would be more. An explosion shook the ground, knocking everybody off of their feet and sending smoke and debris flying in their direction. The Doctor was the first who managed to get to his feet again, but his ears were ringing. After a brief moment he saw a platoon of soldiers wearing purely gold colored armor. What intrigued him the most was that the "gold" was definitely Dalekanium.

"They look like humanoid Daleks." he said to himself, astonished.

Without wasting another second he called out to Vincent, Rose and the nurses, helping everyone to their feet.

He grabbed Vincent by the shoulder and pointed at the moving platoon. "Over there, Vincent. Those are Davros soldiers, aren't they?"

Vincent nodded. "Yeah, but that armor looks new. They used to be black and gold. Perhaps it's some kind of-"

"That's great Vincent," the Time Lord interrupted. "Now let's make our way _that way_! Maybe they can help us!"

Vincent and Rose followed the Doctor, who urged the nurses to do the same. He held out his hand to one of them, a young blond woman.

"Come on!"

She took his hand, but fell to the ground not a second later. She had been shot in the back of the head. The other nurses screamed in fear as the invading soldiers fired at them.

"No!" he screamed at them. "They're innocent!"

Death and war were nothing new to the veteran Time Lord, but each life was precious and each death all the more tragic.

Vincent ran in front of him, pressing a button under his right gauntlet before reloading his rifle. His armor made a whirling noise as it formed a black and gold helmet over his head, complete with a black visor for sight. The Doctor and Rose made a run for the approaching Davros soldiers, leaving Vincent to provide cover. His armor, although more resilient than most, was taking heavy damage from the volley of bullets. They had to help their new-found friend, and fast.

"Hey! Over here!" Rose yelled at the squadron.

One soldier in particular turned to face her.

The soldier definitely looked like he was of a higher rank, his armor having a more embellished design complete with symbols that were definitely not of Earth. In addition, he wore blue Dalekanium on his armor. Without a word, he signaled for his men rush in for aid.

"You two." he said in a rather flat tone. "Come with us immediately."

The Doctor wasted no time grabbing Rose's hand and following the soldier's instructions. The platoon quickly swarmed the British soldiers, their bullets bouncing off of the Dalekanium armor. A battlefield was the worst place that he wanted to be in, as it brought back memories of the Time War.

The platoon that was now protecting them was near invincible as it mowed down enemy soldiers with frightening ease. If this new armor were to be applied to all of the Empire's military, then nothing could stop them.

Rose clung tight to her Doctor as she was losing her strength. She was still injured, but that was not about to stop her.

"Doctor what's going on?! What are Davros? Why do they look like Daleks?"

"Rose." he said as he held her close, acting as a shield just in case. "These people practically worship Daleks; so much so that they were willing to turn against their own race, their own country. The other ones, the ones wearing regular armor, those are British soldiers."

Her mouth slowly gaped open.

"You mean, those soldiers that attacked us," she began tearfully, placing the pieces together. "Those are _our_ soldiers?"

The blue commander ordered his men to halt and quickly paced toward Rose.

The Doctor acted fast. "Oh and uh you might want to keep quiet about the "Doctor" part." he whispered.

The commander was getting closer.

"And _these_ are Davros soldiers. Loyalists to the Daleks." said the Time Lord in a more positive tone.

The commander glared at them through his helmet.

"Exactly _who_ are your soldiers?" he asked.

"Oh! Right! Well um, that would be _you!_" the Time Lord exclaimed. "Oh yes and what marvelous soldiers you are! Very grateful for you saving our lives by the way. That was perfect timing."

"Your woman there. Is she injured?"

Relieved that their cover had not been blown, he answered the commander. "My uh, woman?" It took a second for him to realize. "Oh, Rose! Yes sir. Yes she is injured. We were in that hospital over there when we were attacked. Please, can you give her medical attention?"

"We have a transport vessel flying in to transport you to safety. It should arrive any minute." said the soldier, again with little to no expression in his tone.

Not two seconds later, a loud whirling sound came from above them. A large gold colored military aircraft was slowly descending above them, its massive turbines roaring over the battlefield were a like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the sounds of the battlefield. Everybody quickly ran out of the way as the aircraft made its landing and lowered the ramp.

Two soldiers ran from inside the ship and motioned for the two to get on board. The Doctor shook his head.

"There's one more. His name's Vincent." he told them.

"Doctor." a voice came from behind.

The Doctor whirled around to see Vincent smiling at him, alive and unharmed save for the brutal damage that his armor had taken. Elated that his ginger-haired friend was safe and sound, the Doctor smiled back at him.

"Vincent!" he burst with excitement and relief. "There you are! We were worried you didn't make it."

"Had it not been for that platoon and their new armor then I might not have."

"Well come on then! Let's get on board!"

Together, the three boarded the aircraft. As the ramp lifted back up, a nurse approached them.

"Who here is injured?" she asked.

"That would be Rose." Vincent and the Doctor replied simultaneously.

"Rose, would you please come with me to the sick bay?"

Rose nodded, and followed the nurse. The other two attempted to follow, but the nurse protested it, saying that only the injured could be allowed back for the moment.

"We will need to thoroughly examine her and make sure she will be all right. You can't be in the room, but we will gladly send for you after she is settled in one of our patient rooms." The Doctor nodded and waved goodbye to Rose as she followed the nurse.

"You going to be okay?" asked Vincent.

"Yeah." the Doctor replied, hiding his worry. "She'll be fine. She's in good hands, you know?"

Vincent chuckled. "You don't need to convince _me _of that."

The Doctor was getting uncomfortable now. He really was just trying to convince himself. "Come on, let's meet the crew."

They made their way to the center of the aircraft, where they found an official looking gentleman walking up to greet them.

"Ah, you must be the captain." the Time Lord said with a smile.

"That I am." the captain replied. "And you are..?"

"Oh!" Vincent forced himself into the conversation. "He's with me."

"I see."

The Doctor paused for a moment before asking him "Pardon me but where are we going exactly?"

"Skarro. It is our capital." the captain replied. "You should feel honored."

He should have suspected that answer. All of these names are just taken from Dalek civilization and culture. The cities, the name of the Empire, the armor. What was more suspicious is that the soldiers never appeared to change their tone of voice. Even in the middle of combat they sounded emotionless and empty. It was as if they were under some form of hypnotism.

Going into the heart of this seemingly unstoppable empire didn't seem like a bad idea. In fact it would provide the Doctor with the perfect opportunity to investigate further, because one thing was for certain. Someone else was working from behind the curtain, and he was going to find who it was.

_Thanks to everybody for reading this story. Sorry that this chapter took so long. Lately I have been bombarded with work, college and exams so until I actually have time to write the rest, I'm putting the story on hiatus. I will come back to it when I have time, but work and school are requiring much more of my time. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! =)_


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